October 13, 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Bureau of Land Management published a notice in the Federal Register of August 23, 2006, concerning the classification for lease or conveyance of three parcels of public land to Sublette County. The notice contained an incorrect legal description.

EPA's Pesticide Program Dialogue Committee (PPDC), Pesticide Registration Improvement Act (PRIA) Process Improvement Workgroup will hold a public meeting on November 2, 2006. An agenda for this meeting is being developed and will be posted on EPA's website. The workgroup is developing advice and recommendations on topics related to EPA's registration process.

The Association of American Pesticide Control Officials (AAPCO)/State FIFRA Issues Research and Evaluation Group (SFIREG) Working Committee on Water Quality and Pesticide Disposal (WQ/PD) will hold a 2-day meeting, beginning on November 6, 2006 and ending November 7, 2006. This notice announces the location and times for the meeting and sets forth the tentative agenda topics.

EPA is seeking public comment on a January 10, 2005, petition from the Washington Toxics Coalition (Washington Toxics), available in docket number EPA-HQ-OPP-2006-0801, requesting that the Agency revoke all tolerances for the pesticide carbaryl. The petitioner, Washington Toxics, requests this action to obtain what they believe would be proper application of the safety standards of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), section 408, as amended by the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA) of 1996. Washington Toxics is filing this petition in response to a Notice of Availability for the Carbaryl Interim Reregistration Eligibility Decision (IRED), published in the Federal Register on October 27, 2004. The carbaryl IRED is available on the website https://www.regulations.gov under docket number EPA-HQ-OPP- 2003-0376 and on the Agency's pesticide web page, https://www.epa.gov/ pesticides/reregistration/status.htm.

This Notice identifies unutilized, underutilized, excess, and surplus Federal property reviewed by HUD for suitability for possible use to assist the homeless.

The Federal Housing Finance Board (Finance Board) is announcing the Federal Home Loan Bank (Bank) members it has selected for the 2006-07 third quarter review cycle under the Finance Board's community support requirements regulation. This notice also prescribes the deadline by which Bank members selected for review must submit Community Support Statements to the Finance Board.

The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) proposes to replace the provisions currently found at 7 CFR 457.107 with a new Florida Citrus Fruit Crop Insurance Provisions. The intended effect of this action is to provide policy changes, and clarify existing policy provisions to better meet the needs of insureds and to restrict the effect of the current Florida Citrus Fruit Crop Insurance Provisions to the 2007 and prior crop years.

The Department of Energy (DOE or the Department) is providing this Amended Notice of Intent to expand the scope of the ongoing Environmental Impact Statement for the Alignment, Construction and Operation of a Rail Line to a Geologic Repository at Yucca Mountain, Nye County, Nevada (DOE/EIS-0369, Rail Alignment EIS, Notice of Intent, April 8, 2004, 69 FR 18565). In the ongoing Rail Alignment EIS, DOE has undertaken an analysis of alternative rail alignments in which to construct and operate a rail line within what is referred to as the Caliente corridor. Based on new information, DOE now plans to expand the Rail Alignment EIS to incorporate analysis of a new rail corridor alternative. This additional analysis will supplement the corridor analyses in the ``Final Environmental Impact Statement for a Geologic Repository for the Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste at Yucca Mountain, Nye County, Nevada'' (DOE/EIS- 0250F, Yucca Mountain Final EIS, February 2002). The expanded analysis will consider the potential environmental impacts of a newly proposed Mina rail corridor at the same level of corridor analysis as is contained in the Yucca Mountain Final EIS, and will review the rail corridor analyses of that Final EIS, and update, as appropriate. The expanded scope will then proceed to include a detailed analysis of alternative alignments within the Mina corridor at the same level of analysis of the ongoing alignment analysis for the Caliente corridor. The result will be to provide the public with information concerning both the potential corridor and alignment impacts of the Mina corridor at the same time DOE presents the potential impacts for the construction and operation of a rail line within the Caliente corridor. The expanded EIS will be entitled the Supplemental Yucca Mountain Rail Corridor and Rail Alignment EIS (DOE/EIS-0250F-S2 and DOE/EIS-0369). On April 8, 2004 (69 FR 18557), the Department issued a Record of Decision announcing its selection, both nationally and in the State of Nevada, of the mostly rail scenario analyzed in the Yucca Mountain Final EIS. This decision will ultimately require the construction of a rail line to connect the repository site at Yucca Mountain to an existing rail line in the State of Nevada for the shipment of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. To that end, the Department also selected the Caliente rail corridor in which to examine possible alignments for construction of that rail line. On April 8, 2004 (69 FR 18565), DOE issued a Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for the alignment, construction, and operation of a rail line for shipments of spent nuclear fuel, high-level radioactive waste, and other materials from a site near Caliente, Nevada, to a geologic repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada (the Rail Alignment EIS). During subsequent public scoping, DOE received comments that offered preferences for various rail corridors analyzed in detail in the Yucca Mountain Final EIS, and identified other rail corridors for consideration. In particular, commenters recommended that DOE consider the Mina route, which would include use of an existing rail line from Hazen, Nevada, to the Thorne siding in Hawthorne, Nevada, and the construction of new rail line that would follow an abandoned rail line nearly to Yucca Mountain. In the Yucca Mountain Final EIS, DOE considered, but eliminated from detailed study, several potential rail routes. One of those potential rail routes, the Mina route, could only connect to an existing rail line by crossing the Walker River Paiute Tribe Reservation northwest of Hawthorne, Nevada, and the Tribe had informed DOE that it would refuse to allow nuclear waste to be transported across its reservation (letter dated December 6, 1991). For this reason, the Department considered the Mina route to pose an unavoidable land use conflict and thus to be unavailable for further consideration. Following review of the scoping comments for the Rail Alignment EIS, DOE held discussions with the Walker River Paiute Tribe regarding the availability of the Mina route. Subsequently, in May 2006, the Walker River Paiute Tribe informed DOE that the Tribal Council had withdrawn its objection to the completion of an EIS studying the transportation of nuclear waste across its reservation. The Tribe stated that its Tribal Council had not decided to allow such shipments, but indicated that inclusion of the Mina route in an EIS would allow the Tribe to make a more informed, final decision about the matter. In view of the Tribal Council's decision, DOE initiated a study to determine the feasibility of the Mina route, and to identify a specific corridor (Mina corridor) and associated preliminary alternative alignments (described below under Mina Alternative Alignments). Based on DOE's preliminary analysis, in comparison with other rail corridors, the Mina corridor appears to offer potential advantages to the extent it would cross fewer mountain ranges, utilize existing rail bed, and also be a shorter distance. These potential advantages would simplify design and construction of a rail line, and therefore would be less costly to construct. The Mina corridor also would appear to have fewer land use conflicts, and would involve less land disturbance, which tends to result in lower adverse environmental impacts overall. For these reasons, DOE has concluded that the Mina corridor warrants further detailed study. Accordingly, DOE is announcing its intent to expand the scope of the Rail Alignment EIS to supplement the rail corridor analyses of the Yucca Mountain Final EIS, and analyze the Mina corridor. This Supplemental Yucca Mountain Rail Corridor and Rail Alignment EIS \1\ also will consider, in detail, alignments for the construction and operation of a rail line within the Caliente and Mina rail corridors.

The American Institute in Taiwan has concluded a number of agreements with the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States (formerly the Coordination Council for North American Affairs) in order to maintain cultural, commercial and other unofficial relations between the American people and the people of Taiwan. The Director of the Federal Register is publishing the list of these agreements on behalf of the American Institute in Taiwan in the public interest.

The Southwest Washington Province Advisory Committee will meet on Thursday, November 9, 2006, at the Gifford Pinchot National Forest Headquarters, 10600 NE. 51st Circle, Vancouver, WA 98682. The meeting will begin at 9:30 a.m. and continue until 4 p.m. The purpose of the meeting is to share information and receive feedback on: Gifford Pinchot National Forest's Recreation Site Facilities Master Plan effort; Invasive Plant environmental impact statement; Special Forest Products; and to share information among Committee members. All Southwest Washington Province Advisory Committee meetings are open to the public. Interested citizens are encouraged to attend. The ``open forum'' provides an opportunity for the public to bring issues, concerns, and discussion topics to the Advisory Committee. The ``open forum'' is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Interested speakers will need to register prior to the open forum period. The committee welcomes the public's written comments on Committee business at any time.

The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) hereby announces its intention to award grants and contracts to provide economical and effective delivery of high quality civil legal services to eligible low-income clients, beginning January 1, 2007.

The FAA published a final rule on August 29, 2006, (71 FR 51382), to address persistent flight delays from overscheduling at O'Hare International Airport (O'Hare). This amendment revises section 93.25, ``Initial assignment of Arrival Authorizations to U.S. and Canadian air carriers for domestic and U.S./Canada transborder service,'' to direct the FAA to assign each U.S. and Canadian conducting scheduled service at O'Hare by January 27, 2007, Arrival Authorizations based on their permanent holdings as of the 7-day period of October 22 through October 28, 2006, as evidenced by the FAA's records. While the FAA is making this rule effective without notice and comment, the FAA invites the public to comment on the amendment. The FAA will consider the comments to see whether the rule should be further modified.

The U.S. Army announces the availability of a DEIS that evaluates implementing transformational activities at Fort Carson, a military installation located south of Colorado Springs, Colorado. Actions associated with these transformational activities include restationing of troops; construction, demolition, and renovation of facilities at the Cantonment and range areas; and increased use of training lands.